Tuesday, March 22, 2011

We decided a few months ago that we wanted to take a vacation with our family to somewhere new! So when we looked at our options, Washington DC came to mind! We had a cheap place to stay and all of the sights are free!!!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 were so excited about our trip!

Thing 2's favorite thing was the butterfly exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. They actually have a small habitat for the butterflies that you can walk through! And on Tuesdays it is free!!!

The Dinosaurs were Thing 1's favorite.

We went to see the Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, The White House, and the Washington Monument! All of those require a lot of walking and Thing 2 was not happy about it!

We also visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Musuem! It was also a favorite!

On Wednesday we visited the National Zoo

Although I was so excited about the Pandas, the Red Panda was my favorite! The kids enjoyed the Lion Cubs!
Like the Museums, the National Zoo was free. You could walk in, just like a neighborhood park! No Admission Gates. You could see many locals jogging around the zoo, like they would at any park!

The kids really enjoyed riding the metro train!

At the end of the day, it was too much for Thing 2

I did learn a few things on our journey.

1. Thing 2 Does not like to walk for long periods of time no matter how interesting the place

2. A cheap vacation can be fun!!! We packed our lunches everyday and bought food to cook for dinner.

3. Public transportation can be expensive so make sure you plan ahead and know exactly where you want to go and if it will be doable for your family.

4. Be prepared for your bags to be checked at all of the major museums.

5. If you want to tour the white house you have to contact your congressman or woman no less than 21 days before your visit and they like you to schedule earlier than that. We didn't know this piece of information so we didn't get very close to the White House.

We had a blast and I am so proud of our kids. We originally were supposed to stay through Friday, but because of a death in our corps family we had to cut it short. I thought that the kids would be upset, but they were troopers and understood that sometimes things happen and that it was important to minister to that family. They are such cool kids! :)